15Jun15

Kremlin wants Kiev to say whether it considers itself legal successor to former
government

The Kremlin wants Kiev's current authorities to say it definitely whether they
consider themselves as a legal successor to the former government or they turn
down its liabilities, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

"When we hear such statements [by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko], first
of all we want to know whether the current authorities denounce their liabilities,
of which we are most concerned about their financial liabilities," Peskov told
journalists, commenting on Poroshenko's pronouncements that the Russian
three-billion-dollar loan to Ukraine was a "bribe" to former head of state Viktor
Yanukovich for his abandoning association with the European Union.

"Viktor Yanukovich, who was Ukraine's president at that time [in 2013] was
toppled in an illegal and anti-constitutional state coup," Peskov noted. "So far,
we have no answer to the question [about legal succession]. Frankly speaking, I
find it difficult to say whether Poroshenko's words could be taken as an answer
to that question."

When asked whether Russia would bring up the issue of illegitimacy of Kiev's
current authorities in case Ukraine questioned the necessity to repay the Russian
loan, Peskov answered in the negative. "No, this is not the point. If we speak
about the legitimacy of Ukraine's authorities, the question is whether their
challenge Ukraine's legal succession as a state, or, in other words, whether they
challenge Ukraine's international liabilities," he said.

[Source: Itar Tass, Moscow, 15Jun15]

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